Etymograph

English

femboy

Femboy comes from Latin fēmina ‘woman’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-1‘to suckle, nurse’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θēmanā1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fēmanā1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēmina1‘woman’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēminīnus1
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400feminin1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500femynyne1
  9. English1500–presentfeminine1
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2015femboy1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English femboy
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2015, Charles Cadman: “A Thai boy is allowed to be effeminate. Such…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-Wiktionary, English femboy‘to suckle, nurse’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂Wiktionary, English femboyreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θēmanāWiktionary, English femboyreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fēmanāWiktionary, English femboyreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēminaWiktionary, English femboy‘woman’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēminīnusWiktionary, English femboy
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400femininWiktionary, English femboy
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500femynyneWiktionary, English femboy
  9. English1500–presentfeminineWiktionary, English femboy
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2015femboyWiktionary, English femboy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2015, Charles Cadman: “A Thai boy is allowed to be effeminate. Such…”

A compound of fem- ‘feminine’ + boy

English feminine

English fem-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-

…

Proto-Germanic *bōjô ‘younger brother’

Proto-West Germanic *bōjō

Old English *bōia ‘boy’

Middle English boye ‘servant, commoner, knave, boy’

English boy

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’

doe, tyre, fetus, dai, felicity, fawn, filial, fellatio, fecundity, dahi, 29 more

through Latin fēmina ‘woman’

female, femme, effeminate, 8 more

through Latin fēminīnus

feminist, feminism

through Old French feminin

feminine

through Middle English femynyne

femininity

Today it means

noun A (typically young) male or non-binary individual who adopts a feminine aesthetic and has an androgynous appearance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “femboy”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- / femboy

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